Day 65 – Magic in the Basin

There’s hike-a-bike in the Basin. Who knew?

There’s also good water.  And trees. And rocks. Mountain biking!

The CDT has its own route through the Great Basin, since walking the big wide roads of the GDMBR would be sub-fun. We were excited to see what it would bring us.

It’s called the great basin because the divide itself splits, leaving a desolate bowl where water neither makes it to the Atlantic or the Pacific. Water doesn’t make it much of anywhere.

We started on the divide route ‘ s pavement. No reason to fiddle around in the sand or with no trail when there’s a good paved road paralleling it. I think nearly all the hikers end up taking the pavement, too.

We soon turned off Mineral X road and onto a nice, primitive 2 track.  We would be on 2 tracks for the rest of the day!

I had the idea to carry a watermelon down the trail to pull out when we saw the fellowship, or maybe chimp and crew–whoever we saw first. All I had to do was suggest it and Eszter got excited and implemented it.

It was the fellowship that we first caught. Ez performed some first rate trail magic, busting it out and watching their mouths drop.  Pretty cool.

Soon after we left the Fellowship, we ran into another crew of 3 leaving a spring.  Then not a couple miles later, it was Chimp and Kipper, getting right well distracted by finding and carrying petrified rocks.  Spork and Tootise were up ahead waiting for them to stop rock collecting and start hiking.  It was pretty funny.  And it was so cool to see them — we met all 4 of them in Pie Town and hung out for a couple days there.  It’s cool to run into them 2 months later, to see them still looking good and hiking strong, together.  The living breathing community that emerges on this trail is something special.

The next couple dozen miles went quickly.  Riding a bike out here is a very good idea.  There’s nothing I can really write to describe how wide open it is.  How quiet it is.  How beautiful it is.

It’s very cool to see a new perspective on the Basin.  This route does have some challenges.  We ended up walking our bikes through some extended deep sand.  Eventually I noticed that the hikers have made a rough singletrack next to the deeply sandy sections.  You have to dodge all sorts of sage, but the ground is firm and the going much easier than walking a bike in deep sand!

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As we began climbing into the Crooks range, the terrain became very un-Basin like.  Mountains!  Trees!  Gurgling springs!  And steep climbs.  We really weren’t expecting to push our bikes up steep hills out here!  It is the CDT, after all….

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Otherwise it was a big day of staring at huge views, watching the antelope run like crazy, and the wild horses roaming across the desert.  We kinda skipped lunch and ended up bonking, as we were trying to chase the hiker Sunset down.  He must be smashing it.  Prints are getting fresh, but no sign.

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We’re coming for you tomorrow Sunset!  And there’s a beautiful one out tonight.

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